Detroit Free Press Building vs AT&T Building

Comparing the Detroit Free Press Building and the AT&T Building is interesting because they both stand in Detroit, MI, and were completed within 3 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The AT&T Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 318ft (97m) with 19 floors above ground, while the Detroit Free Press Building reaches 190ft (58m) with 14 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Detroit Free Press Building and the AT&T Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Albert Kahn Associates and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Detroit Free Press Building is primarily residential, while the AT&T Building is primarily commercial.

Originally, the Detroit Free Press Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The AT&T Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Detroit Free Press Building offers 105 residential units.

The Detroit Free Press Building also provides 105 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.